


The Ghost of You

by PrimaryScavQueen



Category: 12 Monkeys (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post Immortal, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 18:18:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6999331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrimaryScavQueen/pseuds/PrimaryScavQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deacon can see the change in Cassie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost of You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [n0m_de_plum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/n0m_de_plum/gifts).



> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Author's Note: This was written fast and is unbeta-ed. It's also a mix of things that have been in my head since the end of "Immortal". n0m_de_plum requested a talkative Deacon. I feel he's a mix of talkative and introspective in this. He wasn't feeling too chatty. 
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated!

At first, Deacon isn’t sure what woke him. The sudden alertness floods his body with adrenaline, makes his heart slam in his chest. His eyes scan the room while his brain is already processing the source. A noise; a cry, to be precise. Something like an animal trapped in a cage, mourning freedom. Soul wrenching. Heart breaking. 

It’s coming from Cassie.

She’s curled beside him, tucked into the crook of his shoulder. He can feel her tears on his skin. He tries not to let his emotions bubble to the surface but fuck if he can feel the worry tug at his mind, his heart. Something about her is different since she splintered back. 

He notices how she makes a point to not discuss what happened beyond a certain point. How her body will suddenly tense or how she sometimes…drifts into her thoughts. But she’s pissed at him, and Cole and Ramse so she’s shut him out. A first since they started their…alliance. He's just relieved she still comes to bed. 

His reaches out and gently strokes her cheek. Her soft skin is cool despite the heat generating between their bodies. Cassie makes a noise, this one softer, more pleasant so he continues his calloused fingers across her smooth, pale cheekbone, tracing down her jaw line. To his relief, she seemingly settles. 

Yet, he can’t. Sleep takes its sweet time to claim him.

In the morning, they have a visitor. The Mother of The Daughters herself, an older Jennifer Goines. It’s not the first time he’s seen her. No, they’ve had their beneficial alliance for years. But it’s his first time seeing how she interacts with everyone else and he learns a lot immediately. 

Most surprising is Cassie’s reaction. She was ready to kill her once upon a time. Apparently that time is over. After Jennifer greets Cole with an odd yet affectionate nickname he stores away for future use, she moves to Cassie. Cassie offers her a soft smile and Jennifer envelopes her in gentle hug. Then she touches Cassie’s temple and Deacon can see the tension that straightens Cassie’s spine. 

Jennifer turns and meets his eyes. There’s something in her unfathomable eyes that makes his heart skip a beat. He’d give everything to know what she knows. He’s tempted to schedule a sit down with her and find out what isn’t being said. 

Jennifer crosses the room to him, the hem of her dark dress scratching along the floor. “Deacon.” She greets him.

“Madre.” He replies.

Her grin is only half insane. “You look like hell.”

He grins back; it only sort of hurts. “Still better looking than Ramse.”

She snorts as does Cole and Cassie while Ramse manages to look offended. “You feisty thing, you.”

“I am a man of many things.” He says easily. 

“Just the way I like you.” She claps her hands and pivots, “I brought presents.”

“Ooh. Is it Christmas already?” 

“Ho ho ho.” Jennifer chuckles in a gravelly voice.

Deacon moves back to Cassie’s side and she glances up at him, offering a tired smile. He wants to take her back to bed. Jennifer brought one of her Daughters with her and she brandishes a cloth bag. Jennifer pulls out a book. It’s surprisingly well preserved, though aged around the edges. The cover is so faded he can’t make out a title. 

She gives it to him and he flips it open. The pages smell musty, old. They’re soft under his fingers as he turns through it. It’s a book of poetry. Interesting. Among the many things she’s provided him over the years, books have been just one of them. Each tome is something different but has eventually come to play an important role in his life.

“Thanks.” He tells her, wondering just what lies ahead.

She gives him a brief nod and brandishes another present. It’s a rectangular tin. Jennifer hands it to Cassie. From over Cassie’s shoulder, he can see tea leaves inside. He can also see the tremor that shakes her hand and moves enough that he can see her face.

Cassie is staring at the leaves in abject horror. The look decides his resolve. He’s going to have a talk with The Mother. Jennifer gently takes the container back from her hand and places it on the table. Then she grabs Cassie’s hands and speaks low that even as close as he’s standing to them, he strains to hear the words.

“It’s to help you sleep.” Jennifer’s voice is gentle, “I wouldn’t give you anything to hurt you. You know that I would never hurt you.”

“I know.” Cassie’s voice is just as quiet but there’s affection in her words. So much different from the hissed annoyance she used to use when talking about the other woman. 

Then, like that, the moment is over and Jennifer flits off to Cole. Deacon slides his hand around Cassie’s hip and she startles. 

“Easy, Cass.” He murmurs and guides her to turn and face him, “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say, Deacon.” She replies.

“Bullshit.” 

Her eyes turn sharp. “I’m fine.”

“You may be able to use that on Jones, on Ramse even. They might believe you. I know you better than that.” Cole knows her better too but he's been shut out as well. And of the two of them, Deacon knows he has a chance if she stops being so damn stubborn.

A muscle twitches in her jaw. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m still processing things.”

He cups her jaw. “What did they do to you?”

Her eyes cloud and he can see her disappearing right in front of him. 

“Hey.” He keeps his voice low but firm, “Come back to me.”

Cassie blinks. “I haven’t gone anywhere, Deacon. But I am leaving now.” She slips from his embrace and heads to the living quarters. 

A sigh leaves his throat and once she’s gone from his sight, he turns back and finds Jennifer in front of him. Cole is watching him intently but he ignores him and focuses on The Mother.

“What the fuck happened?” Deacon is past the point of being polite, his patience is strained. He needs some goddamn answers.

“Nothing you can fix. You may be a King but you forget, Cassie is a ghost. Her bones lie out there in a building, rotting for the last twenty-six years.”

He grips the book tighter. “Then what do I do? Something is wrong with her.”

“Just keep loving her until you can’t anymore. Even ghosts need it.”

“I don’t love her.”

The blasé look on her face is matched with his. “Loving her won’t make you weak, Theodore.”

He chooses to ignore that. “Stop calling her a ghost.”

“It’s what she is. Don’t forget that either. She may be here in a physical sense but she’s also dead here as well.”

A chill runs down his spine but he hardens his face as much as possible. “Tell me what happened.”

“All will be revealed in time.” Jennifer’s expression turns sad, “Be strong for her.”

“She’s strong on her own.”

A small smile lifts her mouth. “You’re a smart man. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t need you to be strong for her. You’re good at making the hard calls.”

Something in the way she phrases it makes his blood run cold. Warning bells go off in the back of his mind and he opens his mouth but she cuts him off.

“Enjoy your book.” 

With a rustle of her skirt, she walks away and he watches her go. He notices Cole still watching him, dark eyes curious. 

“Cut it out, Otter Eyes.” He tells him and Cole glares.

Deacon gives him a wink with his good eye and goes to find Cassie. 

She’s curled up on his bed, her back to him. He sits down in the small armchair in the corner and watches her. 

“Read to me?” Her voice is soft.

He opens up to the first poem and begins to read, the words flowing easily off his tongue but their meaning wrapped in a riddle. 

Over the top of the pages, he sees the words impact on Cassie, can see the glimmer of tears that brighten her eyes. Instead of commenting, he turns the page and continues to read.


End file.
